


Bound

by eveningbell



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-28
Updated: 2015-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-01 14:37:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4023601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eveningbell/pseuds/eveningbell
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ladies, gentlemen and fugitives... We are gathered here today to join a couple in not-so-holy matrimony...”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Written for dunmerdork@tumblr for a birthday present~ Happy birthday, friend! I hope this year brings you sugar, spice and everything nice. You deserve all the wedding fics in the world <3

"Where is the boy?" 

“We took him to your study, First Enchanter.”

“Thank you, I'll see that he gets back to his quarters safely.”

The Mage bows and walks off in the other direction rather hastily, rubbing the fine scratches on his hands and arms. Maybe the boy was more trouble than he was worth. Still, it's next to impossible to keep those thoughts in one's head when said boy is sitting on a desk with his arms crossed and staring with all the intensity he can muster. Scrawny, blond, with perpetually scuffed knees and tatty robes, it's hard not to feel sorry for him. With a small sigh, Irving settles in his chair and clasps his hands together,

“Now, child...”

Doing everything in his power not to make eye-contact with Irving, the boy looks out the window in the far corner of the room, he squints as the sunlight pours onto his face. No matter how hard Irving has tried before, he can never get the boy to look away,

“Sometimes... Men are faced with challenges that they simply cannot overcome. Great Kings and beggars are more alike than you may think. As are Mages and men who do not share our gifts. We all can fight against our bounds, but men are bound for a reason, we cannot change what holds us to our circumstances. There are many things that you and I shall never experience; acceptance, marriage, freedom. But in time, you will come to understand these things." 

The boy hadn't spoken in weeks, maybe made a vague noise or gesture here and there, but he never used a single word. Instead, he used his eyes. Irving found himself on the receiving end of a glare so strong - yet so innocent - he fought against the urge to apologize for being the symbol for the boy's anger,

“No matter what, we do what we must. You, I, every other man, woman and child in this tower must remain here. There is no other way, child.”

Irving paused and reconsidered how to phrase his disappointment, his fear for another young Mage caught in a negative spiral of emotion. He took in a deep breath and met the boy's eyes,

“Why did you try and escape from the Circle?”

It hadn't struck Irving to ask before, just to reprimand and instruct. He didn't ask because he knew their reasons, he didn't want the delayed realization to hit him. But this boy didn't cower or nod, he kept his head held high even as his lips quivered. Then he opened his mouth and took in a shaky breath,

“I want to go home.”

Irving had to carry those words for the boy, it was all he could do for him. Nonetheless, he places his hand on the boy's shoulder and ushers him off the desk. Walking the whole way back to the Apprentice's quarters with a hand clasped firmly on his arm, Irving tries his best to comfort him with the same words he tells every wayward child.

'The Circle will become your family' and 'home is but a state of mind'

The boy chooses not to hear them.

When they reach their destination, Irving takes one last glance at the boy to consider how best to deal with his behaviour. He's shuffling from side to side and alternating between standing flat-footed and on his tiptoes. Irving furrows his brow and kneels down to the boy's height,

“... I don't believe any of us have had the pleasure of learning your name”

The boy shrugs and kicks his shoes on the ground, prompting Irving to give a friendly smile,

“Still, I've heard the other Mages using a name, what was it now... Anders?”

It perks the boy's attention, he looks into Irving's eyes with slightly less intensity than before, he almost looks like he relaxes into the word,

“Yes, Anders.”

“Well, most people here call me First Enchanter. A name is only what one makes of it, Anders.”

Anders nods, he looks at nothing in particular and stops moving so agitatedly. It seems like he doesn't understand the intent behind what Irving told him, but he acts almost entirely unaffected. Maybe one day they'll mean something to him.

Nodding and smiling, Irving rises and stands at his full height. He bows and bids Anders farewell, back to where they both came from. The silence hits Anders like winter's breeze coursing through his bones, or at least how he could best remember that feeling. Chewing his chapped lips, he enters the Apprentice's quarters and slinks into his bunk, tucking the thin coverlets around his body. He tries not to think about what Irving said to him. The last sentences they shared were some of the nicest he'd heard in weeks, maybe even months, but not the first few.

He already knew, he just didn't want to be told that he should. So he decides not to, he rolls away every wish and fantasy that carried him through until today. Tearing down the walls of his home, forgetting his friend with the dimples and the soft hair.

At least, just until he could find the energy to fight for them again.

 

* * *

 

"Did you make sure Carver ran those errands?"

“Yes, mother.”

“Does Bethany know about the bandit sightings in the fields?”

“Yes, mother.”

“Good girl,” Leandra settles at the edge of Marian's bed, sighing out a small breath “I honestly don't know what I'd do without you.”

Marian can't figure out what to say to that, but she understands and that's all Leandra wants. She'd grown frail since what happened to Malcolm, getting more tired and sickly for months. In the past few weeks, she'd finally managed to go to the market on her own, without Marian holding her arm. That was all Marian wanted,

“Do you remember when your father would read to you?”

“He kept trying, even last year he got his old book out and told me to sit by the fire”

A sad laugh escapes Leandra, it shocks her a little as it comes out. How long has it been since Marian heard that sound? She laughs back out of relief, causing Leandra to reach for Marian's hand,

“He used to tell me... That I was worth all the risks he took, and that I was their inspiration. It was very romantic, but I was always livid,” Marian finds herself tightening her hold on Leandra's hand as it began to shake, “ I was so afraid I'd lose him, after all he went through to give us the little that we had.”

“It would be a lot to a man like him”

“I can't begin to imagine”

Letting out another sigh, Leandra pulls away from her daughter and rises from the rickety bed. Leaning over to brush her daughter's hair aside and kiss the top of her head,

“Never settle for anything less than that,”

Leandra stands up and takes a minute to scan over Marian's face, her beautiful little girl wasn't so little anymore, “One day, you will find yourself surrounded by suitors, all lined up to have a chance at taking your hand. The only one that should be allowed to take it is the one that cherishes you, the one that values your happiness above everything else that they know.”

Once again, Marian can only begin to think about such a thing, but it's still a lovely idea to ponder, “I'm not sure I'll find such a thing in Lothering.”

“You've already outgrown it, you are so much more than this little village. You're lucky enough to be able to leave without worrying about your safety. I'm thankful that Bethany is powerful enough to be able to hide it, and that Carver hasn't shown any signs. As much as I love Malcolm, I don't wish his fate on anyone.”

“You don't have to justify that, I understand more than most.”

“You really are a woman now, aren't you?”

The moonlight starts to shine from beneath the thin cloth covering the windows, full moons are always wonderful in Lothering, no matter what else you can say about the village. Marian sits up and pulls the candle resting on the table beside her bed closer, getting ready to blow it out.

“Sleep well, my child.”

“You do too, mother.”

Leandra slowly makes her way out of the room, closing the door behind her. Marian swears she can hear Leandra pull something large off the shelf just outside her room, probably Malcolm's story book. It makes Marian smile to herself just for a moment, until she blows out the candle and looks at the moon that's so bright tonight, its shape is visible through the curtain.

Generally, Marian's not the type prone to flights of fantasy or dreams of happy endings, but Malcolm believed in them wholeheartedly. She never truly understood what the fairy tales meant by 'happily-ever-after', there wasn't such a thing as forever, was there? Forever until what? Malcolm was gone, nobody had been happy after that, even the memories were bitter some days. Maybe the Fade was like living in a good dream for eternity, maybe he's still with his family in his heart. He might have built something perfect for himself, somewhere they'll all go when it's their time.

She started envisioning a perfect world, one where her family lived on land that was theirs to cultivate and build on, where traders rode past every day and travellers from the far corners of the land stopped to rest. Where Bethany could be be who she was born to be, where Malcolm didn't have to run anymore.

The thoughts spiralled into a place so far from reality, it began to hurt Marian. So she turned her pillow over to the cold side and pushed her toes out from beneath the covers. Cold Ferelden night air would snap anyone back to normality.

Still, how many lands are untouched by fear and loathing of man? How many people would be willing and able to take that dream and turn it into a place that every person in Thedas was welcome and free?

Marian didn't sleep that night.

 


	2. Breathe Easy

Ash and blood are what they taste, sweat dripping down their spines as they run to the ports. Their hair falls loose and they stumble every so often as their worn boots let them down.

They haven't spoken since they stood side by side in the Gallows.

Isabela and Aveline shout orders, directions, instructions, warnings... Every word melding together and losing meaning compared to the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Varric says nothing, not even the usual quips about how his legs are too short to keep up with everyone else. It's one of the few times in a decade that they see fear on his face.

Merrill wipes the tears from her cheeks occasionally, she also keeps turning back to look at what she's leaving behind. She seems to realize that home is not a thing she could let go of easily.

Carver is... Near the front, then at the back again. He's holding Bethany up and running by her side. They wouldn't truly be apart, they never were and they never should be.

Fenris seems to phase in and out of the group, one minute he's by everyone's side, then he's gone again without a trace. But like he said, his place was with Hawke.

Hawke's place is with those she loves, it's more than a blessing that her family are beside her now. As terrified and as exhausted as she is, she is thankful. She reaches out to Anders' hand if he gets too far from her, which he seems to be constantly doing. He can't think any more, only do. But when he turns around to see what's snagging on the sleeves of his coat, his eyes are reflected in Marian's own. The desperation in her face makes him see the city he's left behind, the smoke rising into the sky above and the pure need in the eyes of the woman he loves. So he falls back just enough so that she can always hold him.

The boat's not far now, not far at all. They can breathe there, they can cry and scream and do anything they need to make them feel better. With the first few steps they take onto the deck, they collapse and lean into one another, gasping for air and ignoring the tears in their clothes and the cuts in their flesh. Isabela stumbles towards the helm, pleading the few sailors she has to join her, to help them. The men rush from one place to another, everyone chipping in as much as they're able, they still don't speak.

It's how they carry on over the next few weeks, they follow orders and do their bit for Isabela, but barely anything else. Tension hangs heavy in the air like smog, but time and energy are not resources they can spend so easily, let alone commit to resolving something so large as what happened in Kirkwall.

They search every shore and ford every river, it's never what they want and barely what they need. As the weeks go by, they fall into little groups and patterns and find themselves repeating the same errands. It's like a tiny city of near-strangers. Maybe some of them share bunks and small talk and embraces, but nothing is as easy as it used to be.

Until they find a piece of land with a small, flat beach and a wide river leading into a forest. There are no bandits, or slavers, or Qunari, or anything that looked remotely threatening. Isabela sailed them as far down the river as she could, Aveline escorted them along the paths, judging how well-trodden the ground was, everyone helps far more than they ever could have hoped.

They found a clearing, bright and warm and closer to 'home' than anywhere else they'd ever been, so it is home. No one can take that from them. Marian could've picked anywhere in the world and Anders would've stood beside her, but she wanted it to be here. It's nowhere in particular, there's a road a few hundred paces to the east that branches off to distant hills and valleys, winds through evergreen forests, but it's nothing more than in-between. It suited them. Marian lived her life falling through spaces and dancing along the edges, Anders was just thankful that there really _was_ a little corner of the world where he could finally breathe easy.

 

* * *

 

 

Nights are long when spent alone and under stars, the boat – their friends, their safety – a stone's throw away, keeping watch as quietly as possible. There's enough berries in the forest and fish in the river that they don't have to wander far, it was safer to stay together than alone for once. Not that they ever paid that any mind.

Still, it was in silence. They already knew which plants were poisonous and which were edible, they found so many types of berry on the walk up there that they didn't need to scavenge. There were so many trees that had blown over in late summer storms that firewood surrounded them from every angle. There was nothing to discuss.

As Marian looked over the man that sat by her side, she felt a certain sadness in her heart. He barely even noticed she was there beside her, or at least she thought he was thinking that. She couldn't say for sure, but fear always overtakes sense.

Maybe her brain decides to resort to old habits, but she can't shake the idea she forms in her head. She gazes into the part of his eyes that she can see, soft and ever so weary. He glances over to her for just a second, opens his mouth and draws in a breath, but she's quicker on the draw then he is,

“I'm going to the ship, I need to talk with them.”

“Oh, right.”

“I'll only be an hour, it's just to the beach and back.”

“I know.”

“I love you, Anders.”

He frowns a little and she sees the same look in his eyes that was there on their last night in Kirkwall. But he shakes his head and reaches over to pull her into the softest kiss. It's the first time since that horrible night. Marian sighs as she pulls away, Anders just keeps scanning over her face,

“I love you too”

It's the last thing she needed to hear before she made her mind up that what she was about to do was right.

The forest is almost impossibly dark at night, she still runs as fast as her body allows and says damn the consequences. Maybe she'd find a scratch or fall over and give herself a bruise, but it wouldn't be a novelty, or even important compared to what she was just about to do.

She finds Isabela on the shore, her feet sinking slowly into the sand with the flow of the tides, Isabela flashes a brilliant grin,

“Thought I might never see you here again, what with all the running you've been doing recently.”

“I wouldn't leave my favourite swashbuckler without saying goodbye.”

“So, is this it then,” Isabela pulls her feet from underneath the sand, dipping her toes back into the water, “Finally found a place to put down your roots? You did come here to tell us that, right?”

“Not quite,” Marian pauses and pulls off her boots, walking over to stand beside Isabela, just waiting to wash away, “I was going to ask you how long you planned to stay here.”

“Few more nights and we're sailing back to Kirkwall,” She wriggles her toes and the corners of her lips perk up, “Aveline's desperate to get back, all she talks about any more is Donnic and, well... There is that whole business with the Prince. Still, I try and think about better and brighter things.”

“... Do you think everyone's able to come to us in a few days time?”

“Judging by that gleam in your eye, you'd be very upset if we weren't.”

Marian wasn't one for blushing but she'd be damned if her skin didn't flush and she didn't grin as wide as she could, “I want to marry him.”

“How very romantic! A wedding in a glade under the stars, completely off the records... Your brother walking you down the mossy aisle, Varric taking your hands and making a fool of himself as he reads out his own version of the Chant...”

“I wouldn't have it any other way, Bela.”

“Neither would I.”

Her feet are beginning to disappear beneath the sand again, she shakes her head and walks to shore, retrieving her boots and pulling them up over her legs,

“What are you going to do about rings and formal clothing, do you even want them, or is it not 'fugitive-y' enough?”

“There is that village a few hours down the road and I... I managed to get a few sovereigns from the estate. Most villages have a tailor, at the very least.”

Isabela opened her mouth and took a breath in before Marian stopped her, “I still have both sets of keys... The end of the key – the ring – slides over both of our fingers, I've watched Anders play with it before. It's not as much as I want us to have, but... I suppose it means more than gemstones ever could.”

“You say that, but think about that engagement ring on your finger, girl. Talk about gems not meaning anything, look at the bloody size of that lifestone!”

“We had a choice then, we didn't have to improvise,” Dragging her feet out of the water Marian joins Isabela on the shore and places a hand on her back,

“Ugh, he'd probably kill me for saying this, but, shit...” Isabela huffs out a sigh, “He'd been saving that money to get out of Kirkwall, blew it all on you. None of it came out of your pocket and he hardly had two coppers to rub together after, he told me he'd give you the world if he could. Anders didn't feel like he had a choice in that, all we ever do is improvise. That's all he could do for you at the time.”

“Oh, Maker...” Her hand leaves Isabela's back and grabs the ring on her own finger, twisting it around and rubbing the stone with her thumb, “I'll.. I'll come by tomorrow, can you-”

“Take you into town,” Isabela grinned down at Marian as she tied up her boots, “Of course I can, I'll get some of us to come with.”

Marian was halfway up the hill by the time Isabela realised she was running, “Don't exhaust yourselves too much tonight, it's a long way into town! _Save it for the wedding night!_ ”

Isabela gets a half-hearted wave from Marian as she runs into the darkness, she moves quicker than she ever has done before, rushing through branches and skipping over rocks. Her paces steady as she gets closer to camp, she picks up two light stones and throws them against a tree two seconds apart, their signal for safety.

Peeking through the trees and moving out of the forest, she sees the dim glow of the fire, the wonderfully familiar cloaked figure's outline illuminated softly by the flames. He doesn't turn to face Marian.

With incredibly light footsteps, Marian walks over to sit by his side, he's breathing quietly and his eyelashes are fluttering. It's the first time she's seen him sleep soundly in years, the last thing she wants to do is disturb him, but... She can't help but press her lips to his forehead, stroking the fine, blond hairs away,

“I'm back, love.”

His eyes open slowly, red-rimmed and sunken too deep, he speaks with a voice barely higher than the crackling of the fire, “How long were you g-”

“Just an hour, I only spoke to Isabela for a little while.”

“You never told me why you went to see them.”

“I wanted to find out whether she could bring everyone here tomorrow night,” Marian sits beside him on the log, he slips a hand around her waist and traces the patterns on her leather coat,

“What for? Are they going to move on?”

“Not quite yet, we need to do something together first.”

A little bit of the sparkle returns to his eyes, he's almost concious enough to give Marian his trademark smirk, “What would that be, love?”

“I don't want to-,” Marian stops herself before she says something too nihilistic, too pessimistic, “I just want the chance to live a normal life... I always wanted to... Get married.”

His gaze softens and he shrugs the hood away, gripping Marian's waist tighter and pulling her closer, “I know... It's hard to imagine, after everything...”

“It's not the part about when it's happening that's scaring me, it's the part about never being told that I could have this. That I could have you.”

They spend a moment in silence, both trying to figure out a response that fit the gravity of Anders' words. There didn't seem to be one, so Marian settles for a kiss. It only lasts a second, but it carries more meaning than any amount of words.

He pulls away first, he has to ask all the questions. All the 'hows' and the 'whens', he's fond of these, how could he not be when the answers were like his wildest dreams come true before his eyes? It takes a while to run through everything that he needs to know, but with every question answered, the more he comes back to life.

It's Anders like Marian has never seen him. He surprises himself as he finds jokes that he can make and laughs that they can share. He finds hope in those hours. She finds hope in his words and the tone he says them in. Maybe it's just Marian's imagination, or the firelight is playing with her, but it looks like his eyes are finally smiling alongside his mouth.

That night, they sleep side by side again. Still and at complete peace.

 


End file.
